Development and calibration of a model for packed bed marine scrubbers aboard ocean-going vessels

Abstract

Scrubbers have gained importance in the maritime sector following recent tightening of the emission legislation regarding sulphur. In this work, a model framework based on an Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase model for a packed bed marine scrubber has been developed. The framework account for both dispersed droplets and a packed bed, where sub-models for interfacial forces and heat- and mass transfer are applied for the respective regions. Additionally, a chemistry model and boundary conditions for the nozzles injecting seawater into the scrubber are also implemented. The model framework is calibrated using data from an ocean-going vessel, where the model predictions were within 3% of the measured pressure loss while the discrepancy in the gas and liquid temperatures were between 0.5% and 3.5%. The sulphur concentration predicted by the model varies between − 24% and 25%. However, the concentrations were within 5 ppm of the measured values for all but a single data set.